Book review: ‘Free-spirit shawls,’ edited by Lisa Shroyer

Many knitters will remember a photo of Katherine, Dutchess of Cambridge, released in 2011, in which she was wearing a green knitted shawl on her way to the market. Designed by American design-house Minnie Rose, the shawl was a textured knit with ruffles on all three sides. I always thought that shawl and the fact that Kate was wearing it were going to make shawls much more mainstream, but I’m not sure that it happened. I just don’t see a lot of nonknitters wearing shawls.

Lisa Shroyer has edited a great shawl book for Interweave called “Free-spirit shawls.”

However, the photographers and designers for “Free-spirit shawls” seem to be paying a subtle homage to Kate and her shawl by choosing mostly models with brown hair, and among the brunettes, at least two of them have locks as long as Kate’s. I like that.

I wish editor Lisa Shroyer (the new editor of Interweave Knits and the longtime editor of Knit Scene) had chosen at least one shawl that would be close to a knock-off of Kate’s. Unfortunately for us Kate fans, she didn’t.

However, “Free-spirit shawls,” which was published last year, still has much to recommend it, and Shroyer did a masterful job covering just about all the bases. The book has six chapters and a glossary, as well as a section on how to do certain techniques, a list of sources for yarn, a bibliography for further reading and information about the designers in the book.

I like Rhoeas because it’s large enough to cover my whole back and keep me warm.

The first chapter begins with a discussion of size, style and weights of yarn, as well as how to wear your shawl. The next chapter explores shawl techniques, from top-down triangles to other triangles, then semicircles, crescents, and side-to-side shapes. This chapter also discusses the best cast-ons and bind-offs for shawls, other finishing tips, and suggestions about reblocking your shawl from time to time.

Chapter 3 looks at color and semi circular shawls. Chapter 4 discusses lace. Chapter 5 goes for simplicity, and it includes a shawl called Elven by local designer Angela Tong, whom I’ve met at Trillium. Chapter 6 explores texture. (The book says she lives in Brooklyn, but she moved to NJ since the book was published).

Personally, my tastes about shawls are fairly specific: I like them to be large and deep enough to cover my whole back, and I generally wear the central point of a triangular shawl on my back, the way Kate did. As designer Toby Barna pointed out when I interviewed her a few months ago, though, many women like to wear their points in the front, which I always think is cowboy style, but it’s very fresh and people love it, especially on shawlettes worn asymmetrically. There are a lot of those in this book.

Shawlettes usually function as scarves. Knitters who don’t like to do much shaping love them because they knit fairly quickly, and you don’t have to size them exactly. And as Toby said, you don’t need a huge amount of yarn to do knit one, and they often add beauty to an outfit.

In the shawlette category, the Lindsay shawl by Tabetha Hedrick (on the cover of the book), Angela Tong’s Elven and AnneLena Mattison’s Maedwe are all good choices.

For myself, I would probably go with Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark’s Rhoeas shawl, which is larger and very similar to the Rough Seas shawl I knitted a few months ago from the book by Nazee Fard. Worn by a Kate look-alike in the book, this pattern makes me almost feel as though I could make it in a dark green yarn ( I already have some in my stash) and follow in Kate’s footsteps.

The same model wears another Tarasovich-Clark design, Framework, which is a lace triangular shawl with little points hanging on its sides. Very pretty. The model in the Framework photos looks more like Pippa Middleton than Kate. Maybe she’s a Middleton cousin.

One shawl I especially like in the book is Kyoko Nakayoshi’s trapezoid-shaped Fauve. Knit in an ecru, its cabled diamonds look like they are straight from the Aran Islands. The one in the book falls to roughly the elbow in length. If I make it, I’ll make it longer and wear it as a winter wrap. I’m thinking wool or alpaca for this one. I just checked the book, and Nakayoshi used a worsted-weight wool-alpaca blend. Good choice.

In short, this is a book worth having if you like shawls. Whether you are knitting them as prayer shawls or just as fashion statements, you will find things in here that will interest you. And you may find that Shroyer’s discussions in the opening chapters fill in some of the cracks in your knitting knowledge (we all can learn new tricks). If you are not a shawl person, though, you probably will want to pass on this book. But I guess anyone can figure that out from the title.

“Free-spirit shawls” retails for $24.95 on the Interweave website, ($19.95 if you want the digital version), but you can get it at many local yarn shops. I have seen it several times on the main table at Trillium, so I know you can get it there.

About Pam MacKenzie

Pam MacKenzie grew up in a real estate family. Her parents were real estate brokers and office managers, and she herself was a licensed agent in the 1970s. But early on, Pam discovered she'd much rather write about the industry than sell. Now in her eighth year as the real estate editor at the Courier News, Pam believes she has the best job at the paper. In this blog, she's on a mission to empower readers to give them a strong understanding of anything and everything that can impact their ability to own a home. And she believes passionately that when you understand the real estate industry in New Jersey, you understand so much more: the education system, economic and racial bias, the way politics works or doesn't work and ecology, to name a few. She invites everybody to leave lots of comments, even when they disagree with her.

One Response to Book review: ‘Free-spirit shawls,’ edited by Lisa Shroyer

I do love knitting shawls and will look further into the contents and patterns in this book. Thanks for an enlightening review. Happy Knitting!

About this Blog

Pam explores local knitting groups and yarn shops, critiques patterns and shares her wisdom on techniques for improving your craft.

About the author

Pam MacKenzie
Our real estate editor, Pam MacKenzie, expresses her creative side in this blog about knitting. Pam learned to knit at age 6, when her friend’s mother made Pam’s doll a dress, and Pam wanted to make more. Her mother wanted her to learn how to sew in high school, but she was afraid of the sewing machines, cutting fabric the wrong way, and the potential that sewing would have for bringing down her grade-point average. Every year, she managed to find a course conflict to avoid sewing classes. But the day after high school graduation, she took her graduation money to a fabric store, bought a kit to make a sweater, taught herself to read patterns and never looked back. These days, she knits a prayer shawl every month, along with sweaters, tote bags, gift bags and other goodies. She also designs many of her projects. Read More About PamE-mail Pam